Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political,economic,personal,and social equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that societies prioritize the male point of view and that women are treated unjustly in these societies. Efforts to change this include fighting against gender stereotypes and improving educational,professional,and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women.
Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts,while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race,class,and sexual orientation. The ideology and movement emerged in the 1960s.
Liberal feminism,also called mainstream feminism,is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy and informed by a human rights perspective. It is often considered culturally progressive and economically center-right to center-left. As the oldest of the "Big Three" schools of feminist thought,liberal feminism has its roots in 19th century first-wave feminism seeking recognition of women as equal citizens,focusing particularly on women's suffrage and access to education,the effort associated with 19th century liberalism and progressivism. Liberal feminism "works within the structure of mainstream society to integrate women into that structure." Liberal feminism places great emphasis on the public world,especially laws,political institutions,education and working life,and considers the denial of equal legal and political rights as the main obstacle to equality. As such liberal feminists have worked to bring women into the political mainstream. Liberal feminism is inclusive and socially progressive,while broadly supporting existing institutions of power in liberal democratic societies,and is associated with centrism and reformism. Liberal feminism tends to be adopted by white middle-class women who do not disagree with the current social structure;Zhang and Rios found that liberal feminism with its focus on equality is viewed as the dominant and "default" form of feminism. Liberal feminism actively supports men's involvement in feminism and both women and men have always been active participants in the movement;progressive men had an important role alongside women in the struggle for equal political rights since the movement was launched in the 19th century.
Sex-positive feminism,also known as pro-sex feminism,sex-radical feminism,or sexually liberal feminism,is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults,whether they are initiated by the government,other feminists,opponents of feminism,or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups,endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists,LGBT activists,feminist scholars,producers of pornography and erotica,among others. Sex-positive feminists believe that prostitution can be a positive experience if workers are treated with respect,and agree that sex work should not be criminalized.
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical,fictional,or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles,experiences,interests,chores,and feminist politics in a variety of fields,such as anthropology and sociology,communication,media studies,psychoanalysis,political theory,home economics,literature,education,and philosophy.
Marxist feminism is a philosophical variant of feminism that incorporates and extends Marxist theory. Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property. According to Marxist feminists,women's liberation can only be achieved by dismantling the capitalist systems in which they contend much of women's labor is uncompensated. Marxist feminists extend traditional Marxist analysis by applying it to unpaid domestic labor and sex relations.
Socialist feminism rose in the 1960s and 1970s as an offshoot of the feminist movement and New Left that focuses upon the interconnectivity of the patriarchy and capitalism. However,the ways in which women's private,domestic,and public roles in society has been conceptualized,or thought about,can be traced back to Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and William Thompson's utopian socialist work in the 1800s. Ideas about overcoming the patriarchy by coming together in female groups to talk about personal problems stem from Carol Hanisch. This was done in an essay in 1969 which later coined the term 'the personal is political.' This was also the time that second wave feminism started to surface which is really when socialist feminism kicked off. Socialist feminists argue that liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression.
Cultural feminism is a term used to describe a variety of feminism that attempts to revalue and redefine attributes culturally ascribed to femaleness. It is also used to describe theories that commend innate differences between women and men.
Materialist feminism,as a discipline,studies patriarchy in terms of material sexual and economic benefits afforded to men at the expense of women through the mechanism and construction of gender. As a movement,materalist feminism is a part of radical feminism,thus founded for the abolition of patriarchy,mainly in France and Italy.
Black feminism,also known as Afro-feminism chiefly outside the United States,is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism also acknowledges the additional marginalization faced by black women due to their social identity.
African feminism includes theories and movements which specifically address the experiences and needs of continental African women. From a western perspective,these theories and movements fall under the umbrella label of Feminism,but it is important to note that many branches of African "feminism" actually resist this categorization. African women have been engaged in gender struggle since long before the existence of the western-inspired label "African feminism," and this history is often neglected. Despite this caveat,this page will use the term feminism with regard to African theories and movements in order to fit into a relevant network of existing Wikipedia pages on global feminism. Because Africa is not a monolith,no single feminist theory or movement reflects the entire range of experiences African women have. African feminist theories are sometimes aligned,in dialogue,or in conflict with Black Feminism or African womanism. This page covers general principles of African feminism,several distinct theories,and a few examples of feminist movements and theories in various African countries.
Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism is a 1978 anthology about socialist feminism edited by Zillah R. Eisenstein.
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are held by men. The term patriarchy is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males,and in feminist theory to describe a broader social structure in which men as a group dominate women and children.
A variety of movements of feminist ideology have developed over the years. They vary in goals,strategies,and affiliations. They often overlap,and some feminists identify themselves with several branches of feminist thought.
Feminist political theory is an area of philosophy that focuses on understanding and critiquing the way political philosophy is usually construed and on articulating how political theory might be reconstructed in a way that advances feminist concerns. Feminist political theory combines aspects of both feminist theory and political theory in order to take a feminist approach to traditional questions within political philosophy.
Toward a Feminist Theory of the State is a 1989 book about feminist political theory by the legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon.
State feminism is feminism created or approved by the government of a state or nation. It usually specifies a particular program. The term was coined by Helga Hernes with particular reference to the situation in Norway,which had a tradition of government-supported liberal feminism dating back to the 1880s,and is often used when discussing the government-supported gender equality policies of the Nordic countries,that are linked to the Nordic model. The term has also been used in the context of developing countries where the government may prescribe its form of feminism and at the same time prohibit non-governmental organizations from advocating for any other feminist program. In this sense it is possible to distinguish between a liberal state feminism found in Western democracies such as the Nordic countries,and a somewhat more authoritarian state feminism that is often also linked to secularism,found e.g. in certain Middle Eastern countries.
The following is a timeline of the history of feminism.
Feminist perspectives on sex markets vary widely,depending on the type of feminism being applied. The sex market is defined as the system of supply and demand which is generated by the existence of sex work as a commodity. The sex market can further be segregated into the direct sex market,which mainly applies to prostitution,and the indirect sex market,which applies to sexual businesses which provide services such as lap dancing. The final component of the sex market lies in the production and selling of pornography. With the distinctions between feminist perspectives,there are many documented instances from feminist authors of both explicit and implied feminist standpoints that provide coverage on the sex market in regards to both "autonomous" and "non-autonomous" sex trades. The quotations are added since some feminist ideologies believe the commodification of women's bodies is never autonomous and therefore subversive or misleading by terminology.
Carol Riddell is a British feminist and socialist sociologist and transsexual lesbian who was active in the UK Women's liberation movement in the 1970s. She is known for authoring Divided Sisterhood,the first feminist critique of Janice Raymond's book The Transsexual Empire.
